1. Field of the Invention
The claimed invention relates to a utility workstation for positioning various types of workpieces, and especially for positioning workpieces requiring adjustable vertical and/or horizontal rotation. The claimed invention further relates to a utility workstation employing display, storage, and local light and magnifer means.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The claimed invention is a utility workstation, which is herein defined as an adaptable workpiece positioning device for presenting a suspended workpiece before an operator, employing local light and magnifier sources and auxiliary components designed to facilitate the work process; auxiliary components being holders, supports, trays, storage units, and the like.
The work desk is a very familiar example of the basic workstation. We typically place the everyday things that we use to do our work either in, on, or about our desk, while we use the top of our desk to display and negotiate our work. We do this to maintain organization in our work affairs and to minimize our having to get up from our desk to find and use the basic tools and materials of our work. So it is with the utility workstation concept as applied in this document. Auxiliary components provide means for displaying and storing the tools and aids for the work to be performed and the positioning device provides means for displaying and negotiating the work itself.
How one might use the claimed invention is a function of the requirements of the work to be performed in much the same way that the nature of our work principally determines what we put in and on our desk; there are numerous applications which could be claimed for it. For example, the claimed invention is particularly useful for arts and crafts pursuits in that (1) it allows a hobbyist or artist to work while sitting, (2) it provides for an assortment of specialty holders and supports, (3) it allows an object or material to be presented in a variety of positions, (4) it provides local light and magnifier sources, and (5) it provides for various types of trays and containers for tools and supplies.
Needlework crafts are one of the many types of arts and crafts that can greatly benefit from use of the claimed invention. It was, in fact, a perceived need in needlework crafts for a special kind of workpiece holder that led to the realization of the claimed invention. This fact is also the reason why a utility workstation for needlework projects is specified in the Preferred Embodiments section of this document. Needlework includes embroidery crafts such as cross-stitch, needlepoint, beading, and the like; all of which are based on pushing a threaded needle through material front-to-back and back-to-front, a procedure commonly referred to as stitching. A person who engages in needlework is often called a "stitcher". Stitchers generate artistic works and designs which are often framed and hung on walls or set on furniture, or stitched onto wearing apparel, bed and bath items, coverings, and the like. The work created is generally based on an illustration or pattern that presents a detailed view of the design or drawing being reproduced, with color choices being indicated by symbols and numbers. Also available is fabric that has a pattern printed directly onto it.
Most needlework projects require the use of fabric and many stitchers utilize a special type of holder that keeps the fabric taut and presents a framed working surface to the stitcher. This holder is generally a hand-held type of the hoop frame or scroll frame variety. The hoop frame employs two concentric oval- or round-shaped bands that clamp fabric between the inner and outer bands, and the scroll frame employs two spaced rods, held in position by sidebars, onto which fabric is mounted in scroll fashion.
The floor-stand type frame holder supports hand-held fabric holders. The floor-stand basically consists of an arm assembly mounted onto a free-standing vertical support structure. At the free end of the arm assembly is a clamping means that holds a hand-held style fabric holder. The floor-stand is positioned either in front of or to the side of a seated stitcher such that the mounted fabric is suspended before the stitcher. Most available designs include means for adjusting the working height of the workpiece. Some designs allow the frame to be flipped in such a way that either side of the fabric can be worked facing the stitcher. Some designs also allow add-on enhancements such as a tray for storing skeins of colored thread (floss), scissors, needles, threaders, and the like; a lamp for providing local lighting; a chart holder for displaying chart and pattern layouts; a magnifier for viewing detail work and general inspecting; and/or a basket or the like for storing larger items.
The floor-stand frame holder is the design of choice for most stitchers. Available designs, however, are not versatile enough to offer the stitcher the greatest productivity, convenience, and comfort, as they typically offer limited seating and workpiece positioning options. The easy chair, or for some, the end of a couch, is the preferred seating means for most stitchers, yet the high-back chair is almost mandatory for working with the available floor-stand designs, as these designs cannot be properly oriented or brought close enough for a practical workpiece engagement when use from an easy chair or couch is attempted. One must negotiate these designs much as one would a table or desk. Positioning of the workpiece involves having to shift the entire floor-stand or the stitcher about, and entering and exiting the workplace requires moving the entire, unwieldy floor-stand away from the stitcher's chair or moving the stitcher's chair away from the floor-stand. Add-on components serve to make the available designs even more awkward and difficult to move about.
The claimed invention is a free-standing workpiece positioner that easily accommodates all of the aforementioned seating means as it eliminates the need for moving the seating means or the claimed invention by allowing the workpiece to be moved laterally away from the working position and out of the way of a stitcher leaving or entering his or her seat. The claimed invention also integrates auxiliary components into its overall structure as integral parts of the device rather than as add-on extras as is often the case with currently available floor-stand type frame holders. A lamp and magnifier, for example, is standard for the claimed invention, and equivalents for a chart holder, small items tray, and basket are integrated into the work-positioning device at optimum locations and positions.
In conclusion: as evidenced above, the claimed invention can uniquely meet the needs of a real world application with excellent results. Matching the requirements for accomplishing a task with the basic and adaptive features of the claimed invention results in an exceptional tool for task-specific and general purpose utilization.